Give and Take
by toledo girl
Summary: Emily is excited to be brand new mother, but Bob hasn't warmed up to the idea. He finds a way to make it up to Emily when his reaction hurts her.


Emily smiled to herself as she set the table. Tonight was her last night in town with Bob before she wet to go spend a few days with her family. It was her cousin's wedding shower and although she wanted to be there, Bob was not going to go.

That didn't matter much now though, she had something that she had to tell Bob before she left, and she had to make sure that everything was perfect by the time that he got home.

As the door opened, Emily went and got his usual drink ready for him.

"Hi Emily," Bob called to her as he closed the door behind him.

"Hi honey," Emily greeted, smiling as she brought him his drink. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "How was your day?" she questioned.

"It was okay," he responded. He lacked the enthusiasm that Emily was hoping for.

Right now, she wanted him to be in a good mood. She wasn't sure how Bob was going to take this news.

Emily sat down next to him. "You know, I planned a very special dinner for you tonight," she informed him.

"Did uh, did I miss something?" he implored, going through a lost of important events that he may have forgotten.

Emily looked to him, greatly smiling. There was no way that she could bear to wait to tell him. "I'm pregnant!" she announced.

Bob just stared at her, expressionless. "What?" he questioned, slightly taken aback.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated herself. The longer that he just stared at her like that, the more nervous she became. There was no way that he could be happy about this. Not with the way that he was reacting. "I see," she whispered. Her eyes wandered down to her lap, trying her hardest to hide how hurt she was.

"I-I uh, I think it's, it's uh..." He just couldn't find the words to describe what it was to him. It was surprising. It wasn't exactly what he wanted though.

Emily nodded, trying her hardest just to block out the fact that her husband didn't want her baby. She knew that Bob would never go out of his way to hurt her, but he was hurting her right now. "Listen," she began, finally looking back. Her eyes met his.

"Emily," he started, sensing that he had hurt her. He could see the disappointment in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he had abandoned her.

"I have to go make sure that I have everything packed," she lied through the forming tears as she stood up.

Bob sighed as he turned and watched her rush into the bedroom. He cringed as she slammed the door behind her. He would have gone and said something, but to him, she had every right to be mad. He was over here with nothing to say to her. Here she was, all excited about having this baby and he just sat there not able to say anything.

He wasn't so excited, nor was he that brave. A baby wasn't a bad thing, he just didn't think that he could adjust to a baby. He thought that their life together was pretty much set as it was. Now, this was sort of ruining the plans that he had made for them. This baby was going to interfere with all the things that he and Emily were supposed to go and do together.

Ooo

Bob walked out into the living room the next morning. Emily's suitcases were sitting by the door as she got breakfast ready for the two of them. This was his chance to apologize to her. Last night, when he got to bed she was already asleep.

"Good morning," he said, hoping that she was in a better mood.

"Morning," Emily sighed.

Bob knew that was a negative. He nodded and proceeded to the table. "About last night," he started, wanting to just get straight to the point.

Emily stopped what she was doing and turned to him. "Look Bob, you have nothing to say me. You can't help how you feel about this," she curtly informed him. That was what bothered her most. Last night wasn't some fight, it wasn't something he did to hurt her, it was just his true feelings about what was going on. "And the more I think about it, I'm glad that I know how you really feel about this."

"Emily," Bob said as he stood up. "You, you just caught me off guard! I-I I mean, how was I supposed to expect that you're pregnant? We weren't planning on this one!"

"I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you want this baby," flatly requested. There was no way that he was going to be able to go through with it.

Bob stood there, staring into her eyes. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. He just wasn't allowing himself to do so. It was as fi he just could not tell a lie.

Emily looked down in defeat and nodded. "That's what I thought," she bitterly stated.

"I love you Emily. You, you know that," he stated. "And, and I'll love our baby. I just need some time, that's all," he assured her.

"All right," Emily sighed. She forced a smile to him. "I understand." And she did. This was all sudden. Part of her though was still upset. It wasn't necessary to keep showing him that though. She didn't want to leave Chicago upset with him. They could talk when she got back.

"Are, are you sure? I could come with you if you want," he offered.

Emily's smile became more genuine. "No, you can stay here and get used to the idea. I'll go and manage the flight by myself. It'll give me time to think," she told him.

"Just remember, if, if you need me, just, just call," Bob reminded her.

"I know," she replied. "You think you could help me with my things? I have to be there in ten minutes."

The air between them suddenly felt awkward. He didn't say anything, instead he just grabbed the bags for her and opened the door while she put her coat on. "I love you," he told her.

Emily stopped and looked to him, a softness to her. "I love you too," she responded right before heading out the door.

Ooo

Bob sat in his office with Jerry and Carol. He had called them in there while he had a break between patients.

"Sounds to me like you upset her," Jerry stated after hearing him recount the earlier events.

Bob just looked over to Jerry from his desk he sat on the arm of the chair. "Thanks Jerry, that uh, that really solves my problem."

Carol, who was sitting in the chair, raised her hand. "Maybe you could surprise her," she suggested.

"That's stupid," Jerry argued, looking down to her.

"That is your area of expertise isn't it?" she shot back to him.

"Really Carol! It's a bad idea!" he informed as he stood up. "What happens if he goes out of his way to surprise her and he ends up doing the wrong thing? He could upset her more," he explained.

"Uh, actually, I uh, I think Carol has something here," Bob replied, looking over to her. He was trying to think now of what he could do to show Emily that he wanted this baby. "Now, I just have to think of something to do."

"Well, I guess if you're going to do it her way, you might as well pick something that you can't mess up," Jerry remarked.

"How about you take her out to dinner?" Carol offered. "Or, maybe you could show up in Seattle. That would be romantic."

Perplexed, Jerry looked to her. "How is barging in on her family romantic?" he scoffed.

"He would be going to see Emily," Carol explained to him.

Bob stood up. "I think I might do better if you let me try to figure this one out on my own," he announced, giving the two a cue to leave.

Once they were out of the room, Bob silently sat there at his desk trying to think of something. He could do the usual, go get her flowers or get her a present. That wasn't what he wanted to do though. He wanted her to know that he was ready to be a father and that he was ready to be there for her and the baby. Flowers and a gift were not going to accomplish that.

That was when the idea came to him. A nursery.

ooo

Bob sat in the new nursery that he and his friends had helped to put together. It was all done in a few days, and there was still more to do with it, but he was satisfied with what he had. Right now though, the important thing was to show Emily that he did want this baby, and that he was ready to become a father. He wanted to be there for her and their child.

There was only a small lamp on as he waited for his wife to return. It was funny how excited he was for her to walk through that door and turn on the light to see what he had done.

Actually, after he had gone out and looked for the crib and things, he had warmed up to the idea of fatherhood. He saw parents with little kids at the store, and it seemed like something that he could picture him and Emily doing. Besides that, he started thinking about what kind of mother Emily would make, and wanted to see her with a baby.

"Bob?" Emily called.

"In the den!" he responded, patiently looking towards the door, waiting.

Emily opened the door. "Why is it so..." she began as she turned on the lights. Her eyes widened as she looked around the room. "Oh Bob," she softly gasped. A soft smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

Bob stood up and sighed. "Well, it's, it's going to take a little more work, but we got a lot done while you were gone," he explained to her.

Emily remained in the doorway. "I love it Bob, I really do," she assured him, the smile fading from her lips.

Bob looked to her with concern. "Did I uh, did I do something wrong?" he implored. He had just spent the last couple of days going out of his way to let her know that he was going to be by her side. He wanted to let her know that he was ready to be a father. If there was something that he did wrong, he wanted to know right now so that he could fix it.

Emily's eyes started to water. "I uh, I lost the baby," she informed him. The tears started rolling down her cheeks. It hurt her to tell him that, even more so now that she saw this. As soon as he wanted it, it was gone.

"Oh," Bob replied, all the joy that he had felt was just taken away from him. He sighed as he took another look around the room. The baby that he just got excited for, was no longer there. "I'm, I'm sorry," he said.

"I know," Emily replied through faint sobs.

Bob walked over and embraced her. "Why didn't you call me when it happened?" he asked.

"I wanted to tell you in person," she answered. Her sobbing was growing more intense. For a moment, she allowed herself to just lose it. She had been waiting to do this ever since it happened. Now she was able to, here in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder.

"When, uh, when did it happen?" He started rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.

Emily pulled back from him. It took a second, but she regained enough of her composure to talk to him. "Yesterday," she responded, her voice raspy. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she was barely able to get it out as she started sobbing again.

Bob took her back into his arms. "Don't be. I, I should be the one to apologize. I should have been there, and uh, I, I should have reacted better."

Emily didn't respond as she buried her head on his shoulder. He didn't have to apologize to her though. She knew that he would be there for her. She knew that he loved her, and right now, that was all that mattered. Instead of saying anything, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

The couple stood there, in each other's embrace. Silently taking comfort in each other as they stood there in what was going to be their baby's nursery.


End file.
